1. General Prospects. 2. Department Outline

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1 Department of Astronomical Science, School of Physical Sciences SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies) Doctoral Program 2019 Special Admissions for Applicants Residing Abroad (Privately Financed International Students) 1. General Prospects SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies) was founded on October 1, 1988 as one of the national universities of Japan. The basic idea of SOKENDAI is to develop a new system of postgraduate education in Japan. Its key features are as follows; 1) SOKENDAI offers both three-year and five-year doctoral programs. 2) SOKENDAI consists of six schools with 20 departments operated by 17 Inter-University Research Institutes and Independent Administrative Institutions ( parent institutions ). 3) Research and education are carried out in close cooperation with the parent institutions. 4) A broad and international vision is fostered by enhanced interchange among all departments and other universities in Japan and abroad. The parent institutions provide Japanese and foreign scientists with opportunities to conduct advanced joint research in various branches of science. They are equipped with extensive research facilities and function as centers for advanced studies. At present, they are cooperating in establishing a world-class program of postgraduate education in SOKENDAI. 2. Department Outline The Department of Astronomical Science, School of Physical Sciences, SOKENDAI, is a graduate school based at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, a member institute of the National Institutes of Natural Sciences. The goal of the department is to train researchers capable of doing cutting-edge research, to train specialists capable of developing advanced technologies, and develop human resources with the highly specialized knowledge needed to work in the scientific field. To this end, graduate students conduct observational and theoretical research and research on the development of new instruments related to astronomical science in an environment equipped with state-of-the-art observational instruments and supercomputers. Webpage:

2 3. Doctoral Degree Requirements Doctor of Philosophy shall be conferred to students who have satisfied the requirements of their respective programs as prescribed below. [Three-year doctoral program] Students must be enrolled in SOKENDAI for at least three years; additionally, they must earn the necessary credits, receive necessary research guidance, and pass the examination for a doctoral thesis. Students who are recognized as having achieved significant progress may be able to graduate within a shorter time frame. [Five-year doctoral program] Students must be enrolled in SOKENDAI for at least five years; additionally, they must earn the necessary credits, receive necessary research guidance, and pass the examination for a doctoral thesis. Students who are recognized as having achieved significant progress may be able to graduate with in a shorter time frame. 4. Programs and Number of Students Accepted Number of Students Accepted Program April 2019 October 2019 Three-year doctoral program A few students A few students Five-year doctoral program A few students A few students 5. Qualifications for Application [Qualifications for the three-year doctoral program] Applicants must fulfill one of the following conditions; 1) Applicants on whom a Master s degree or a degree equivalent to a Professional degree has been conferred or is expected to be conferred in a foreign country by the preceding month of enrollment. 2) Applicants who hold or are expected to obtain a Master s degree or Professional degree by the preceding month of enrollment in Japan. 3) Applicants who have been recognized by SOKENDAI as having academic ability equivalent to or superior to those who have a Master s degree or a Professional degree by the individual screening of Admission Qualifications of SOKENDAI, and attain the age of 24 by the end of preceding month of enrollment.(note) Note *Applicants who intend to apply under the provision (3) above are required to have qualification

3 screening to confirm having academic ability equivalent to those who have a Master s degree or a Professional degree before the application can be submitted. If applicable, please contact the Student Affairs Section by before October 14, * The qualifications concern not the date of completion of the master s course of study but the date of conferral of a master s or equivalent professional degree. Those who have completed or are scheduled to complete a master s course before the time of enrollment in the program, but are not scheduled to be granted a master s or professional degree by that time must take extra screening procedures before the application. *Other than those qualifications above (Qualification 1 to 3), eligible applicants include those who otherwise satisfy or will satisfy qualification requirements for admission to SOKENDAI. If you have any questions regarding the qualifications for admission, please contact the Student Affairs Section before October 14, [Qualifications for the five-year doctoral program] Applicants must fulfill one of the following conditions; 1) Applicants who have completed or are expected to complete a 16-year course of school education in a foreign country by the preceding month of enrollment. 2) Applicants who have graduated or are expected to graduate from a Japanese university specified in Article 83 of the School Education Law by the preceding month of enrollment. 3) Applicants who have been conferred or are expected to be conferred a degree equivalent to a Bachelor s degree by the preceding month of enrollment by completing an educational course of three or more years in a foreign university or in a foreign educational institute. 4) Applicants who have completed a 15-year course of school education in a foreign country by the end of preceding month of enrollment.(note) 5) Applicants who have been recognized as having academic ability equivalent to a university graduate or higher by the individual screening of Admission Qualifications of SOKENDAI, and have attained the age of 22 by the end of preceding month of enrollment.(note) Note Applicants who intend to apply under the provisions (4) or (5) are required to have qualification screening before the application can be submitted. If applicable please contact the Student Affairs Section by before October 14, *Other than those qualifications above (Qualification 1 to 5), eligible applicants include those who otherwise satisfy or will satisfy qualification requirements for admission to SOKENDAI. If you have any questions regarding the qualification for admission, please contact the

4 Student Affairs Section before October 14, Required Condition and Notes Applicants are expected to satisfy each of the following conditions. 1) Arrival in Japan: Applicants have to be able to arrive in Japan in time for the semester that begins in either April, 2019 or the semester that begins in October, ) Health: Applicants must be physically and mentally healthy enough to take graduate studies at universities in Japan 3) Language Ability: Applicants who have a good command of English or Japanese. 4) Security Export Control: Depending on the specifics of the education and research instructions they wish to receive upon entering the program, applicants may be subject to regulations on the export/transfer of controlled technologies based on the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law. Please consult the Student Affairs Section of SOKENDAI for further details. 7. Application Procedure [Application Period] From 15 October 2018 to 14 November 2018* *The application must arrive no later than the last day of the application period without fail. [Application Method] Please contact a faculty member of the department whom you would like to study under in advance. The complete set of application documents must be enclosed in the designated envelop and generally must be submitted by registered express mail, or a similar service. The application must reach SOKENDAI no later than the last day of the application period. Mailing address; Student Affairs Section, Division of Academic and Student Affairs SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies) Shonan Village, Hayama, Miura, Kanagawa JAPAN Telephone number Application Documents Please read Application checklist on our website. 1) Application Form (Attached) Please attach photographs (4.5cm 3.5 cm taken within the past six months, upper body, full-

5 faced with no hat) on Application Form. Your signature is required on Application Form. 2) Examination fee: 30,000 yen For payment details, please refer to Instruction on how to make a payment on our website. 3) Official Transcript (originals or certified copies) Applicants who apply for the three-year doctoral program must submit the Official Transcripts from both undergraduate and graduate schools. Applicants who apply for the five-year doctoral program must submit the Official Transcript from the undergraduate school. Submit Official Transcript of each academic year of all the universities or graduate schools you have attended. 4) Certificate of Graduation or Expected Graduation (originals or certified copies) Applicants who apply for the three-year doctoral program must submit the Certificate of Graduation from both undergraduate and graduate schools. Applicants who apply for the five-year doctoral program must submit the Certificate of Graduation from the undergraduate school. Applicants who have not yet graduated from a university must submit an attested document certifying the applicant will graduate from the university before entering the doctoral program. 5) Certified copy of degree diploma Applicants who have graduated from a university must submit a certified copy of degree diploma as follows: Applicants who apply for the three-year doctoral program must submit a certified copy of their Bachelor s degree diploma and their Master s degree diploma. Applicants who apply for the five-year doctoral program must submit a certified copy of their Bachelor s degree diploma. 6) A recommendation letter from the person who knows the applicant s research / academic activities well (e.g., the applicant s academic supervisor at the university in which the applicant is currently enrolled or the university which applicant previously attended, etc.), and addressed to the President of SOKENDAI.(original, free format) 7) Your past research work and activities (if applicable) 8) A summary of your graduation thesis 9) Field of study and study program (Attached) 10) A photocopy of applicant s passport pages showing applicant s name, date of birth, nationality, gender, photograph, and passport number. 11) English score record

6 This is to indicate the applicant s language skill (TOEFL ibt or IELTS are accepted). Only the score recorded within two years before the application deadline date is acceptable. The institutional code for TOEFL ibt of SOKENDAI is The score record should arrive at SOKENDAI on or before the application deadline. The applicants who have taken more than half of their high school classes in English do not need to submit English score record regardless of their nationality or the place they were born. The applicants have to ask the Graduate Education Support Office in NAOJ (daigakuin@nao.ac.jp) in advance of application and ensure that they are eligible to skip submitting English score record. 12) GRE Subject Test (Physics) Score Report (five-year doctoral course only) Note that the minimum GRE Subject Test (Physics) score in the paper screening is 700. Applicants are strongly recommended to take GRE Subject Test (Physics) before September 15. The applicants who will take the GRE test on October 27, 2018, must follow the directions below; (i) include a copy of registration confirmation from ETS to the application documents, (ii) send a screenshot of online record to the Graduate Student Affairs Section in NAOJ (daigakuin@nao.ac.jp) by , on or before November 25, 2018 and (iii) arrange the official records to be sent to SOKENDAI. Note Application documents must be prepared in Japanese or English. If the documents are prepared in languages other than Japanese or English, the official English translation must be attached. Application documents above must be prepared using word-processing software. Print all required documents on A4 size paper (if possible). SOKENDAI cannot respond to inquiries regarding the receipt of individual application documents. The applicant is responsible for the tracking and receipt of all materials. SOKENDAI strongly encourages sending the documents by registered mail, courier service or a similar service that provides tracking numbers and receipt verification services. SOKENDAI will not return the submitted documents, nor provide photocopies of the submitted documents under any circumstances. Please keep a copy of all documents for personal reference. In the case that a document is not re-issuable, please submit an attested (notarized) copy instead. Admission may be withdrawn at any time, even after enrollment, if the application

7 documents are found to be invalid or contain false information. 9. Selection Schedule and Method We will carry out the selection by two steps. The first step is paper screening and the second step is interview. Only the applicants who passed the paper screening can proceed to the interview. [Five-year doctoral course] (1) Paper screening We will review English score record (TOEFL ibt or IELTS), GRE Subject Test (Physics) Score Record and other application forms carefully and decide whether the applicant can proceed to the interview or not. We will notify the result of the paper screening to the applicants via by two weeks before the interview day. (2) Interview We will ask applicants of their past study, research plans and other general matters. The interview will be held on December 14, [Three-year doctoral course] (1) Paper screening We will review English score record (TOEFL ibt,or IELTS) and other application forms carefully and decide whether the applicant can proceed to the interview or not. We will notify the result of the paper screening to the applicants via by two weeks before the interview day. (2) Interview Applicants are asked to have a presentation on their past study first. PC projector can be provided for the presentation. Then an oral examination follows. At the oral examination, applicants are provided with a text about basic physics and astronomy in English and to answer questions based on it. Following that, interview is carried out to review the applicant s research plans and other general matters. The interview will be held on December 14, Announcement of Result Result will be mailed to all applicants no later than January 31, Admission Procedures

8 (1) Admission procedures period is scheduled as below: The middle of March 2019 for the enrollment of April 2019 Late of September 2019 for the enrollment of October 2019 Successful applicants must complete the admission procedures during the prescribed period. Further details will be notified to successful applicants separately. (2) Fees required for admission are as follows. Entrance Fee: JPY 282,000 Tuition Fee for six months: JPY 267,900 *If the entrance or tuition fees are revised at the time of or during enrollment, the revised fees shall be applied from the date of revision. 12. Student Visa Each candidate who is selected as a privately financed student must apply for a visa in person at the nearest Japanese consulate in order to enter Japan after receiving the Certificate of Eligibility which will be mailed from SOKENDAI. 13. Contact details for inquiries Student Affairs Section, Division of Academic and Student Affairs SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies) gakusei@ml.soken.ac.jp